Prepare the Way!

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Devotional of the Week:

Luke 2:30 - 30 "For my eyes have seen Your salvation"

In the gospel of Luke we meet Simeon, a man to whom God promised that he would not die until he laid eyes on the Messiah. What an awesome gift! The powerful knowledge that the baby you held in your arms was God's promise fulfilled. In our lives today we see constant signs of our lives changed by Jesus entering into our hearts. While we have not yet laid eyes on our wonderful Savior, praise God that our faith goes beyond what we see. Simeon did not need to see to believe, he merely was given the privilege to hold his Savior as a gift from God. Today, we believe that we have seen salvation with the eyes of our heart, knowing that someday, we will see our beautiful Lord. That is truly a gift better than all others!

Prayer: Father God, thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus. We look forward to this holiday season as an opportunity to share our joy and love for Him. May we always remember during the hustle and bustle of our days to honor Him and remember Him for the eyes of our heart have been opened and we too have seen our salvation. For that we say Hallelujah and Hallelujah! In Jesus mighty name we pray, Amen!

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Mini-Study of the Week: During the month of December we will do a series of studies on Scriptures related to Christmas. We will resume our study of 1 Samuel in January.

Isaiah 40:3-5 - The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord;Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

As we have entered the holiday season and with Christmas rapidly approaching, we see an opportunity to remember the "reason for the season". Isaiah in his prophecy is sharing with us that we need to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. John the Baptist used these words form Holy Writ as his cry for repentance to those he ministered to. He was the one who preceded the Messiah and who prepared the way by preaching repentance to men's hearts.

In the words of these verses we can see what a life rooted in Christ can achieve. Valleys shall be exalted, crooked places in our lives made straight, obstacle brought low and in every fiber of our being, God will be glorified. Today we can also prepare the way by being willing to share the Gospel with a lost world. We must not shy away from the call to repentance during this holiday season. The first gift of my salvation was that it happened in the month of December, and I have to tell you, it was the most beautiful Christmas ever. I knew and understood what the birth of our Messiah really meant.

Give that gift to someone this year by sowing the seeds of the Gospel in their lives. If they breathe, they need Jesus, so share your faith, witness to the lost, and trust God to bring the fruit. Rejoice during this month that you know the true story of Christmas. Like Isaiah and John teach us, prepare the way for Jesus our Lord to enter the lives of those who need Him. That is our mission and the best Christmas gift we can give anyone this year.



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Video of the Week:

May we all long for our Christmas to be about our Savior. As the song says, "this infant, this King, A Savior for all...", this is our joy this holiday season!

Third Day - "Christmas Like a Child"

Love each other, share His love and share His gospel...
See you next week!

In His Service,
Sergio